Bix Pix Entertainment is absolutely gobsmacked to get the news of our prestigious prize from England!

Christmas Came Early for Bix Pix Entertainment this Year

On November 25, 2018 at the Roundhouse – a performing arts center in the Camden section of London, England – Bix Pix Entertainment won a BAFTA Award for our Amazon series, “Tumble Leaf”.

Wow. BAFTA is the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. “Tumble Leaf” won a BAFTA Award in the International Animated Pre-school Series category. We have to thank BAFTA for recently adding this International category into their line-up. What an honor to win an award from another country’s film/tv academy!

Prestigious. BAFTA is especially generous in awarding children’s & family programming – so much so, that they hold a separate award’s ceremony, to accommodate the many awards given out! Check out the number of categories in this year’s program.

Awesome.

Drew Hodges - Creator, Exec Producer of “Tumble Leaf”

Fun.

…speaking of fun, I sat down with Drew Hodges (Creator, Executive Producer of “Tumble Leaf”) and got a first-hand account for the fun that was had during his trip at the BAFTA event on November 25th:

Q: What was your initial reaction when you found out that “Tumble Leaf” Season 4 was nominated for the Children’s BAFTA/Best Animated International Pre-School Category?DH: Very surprised. It always seemed like such a long shot for us to be recognized by BAFTA.

Q: I know that Kelli was unable to go to the BAFTA Event in London – was an Amazon Executive able to attend with you?DH: Monica Dennis from Amazon was able to attend. It was especially nice because she was a part of the Tumble Leaf team almost from the beginning.

Q: Where was the event held in London?DH: The Roundhouse, which is a converted railway shed.

Q: Did you know/meet any of your fellow nominees?DH: Yes, I knew several of them from previous awards ceremonies. We were all seated at the same table. They were all very welcoming and helped educate me on British television

Q: Were you surprised when they called out you and “Tumble Leaf” as the winner? DH: Absolutely. It’s hard to ever be prepared for that.

Q: We’ve attached the link to video of your acceptance speech in this blog… is there anyone/anything that you forgot to mention in your speech that you’d like to give a shout-out to in this interview?DH: I don’t know if I thanked the BAFTA organization. It is so great that they specifically honor international pre-school shows in its own category. If I could I would individually name every person who poured their hearts and soul into making this show, but I just hope they know that they all share the award equally and should feel very proud of their accomplishment.

Monica Dennis (Amazon) and Drew Hodges (Bix Pix Entertainment)

Q: How was the after-party? Was it different than the other award after-parties that you’ve attended?DH: The after-party was in the same place as the event. But since it was such a long show, and it was pretty late, I ended up skipping it and just getting a drink back at my hotel.

Q: How was the after-party? Was it different than the other award after-parties that you’ve attended?DH: The after-party was in the same place as the event. But since it was such a long show, and it was pretty late, I ended up skipping it and just getting a drink back at my hotel.

Q: Please give us a summary of your overall BAFTA experience!DH: It was a great experience. Being able to explore new areas of London and meeting a different television industry of very welcoming and talented people made the whole weekend even more special. All in all it was very inspiring and has given me lots of ideas for my next project. With any luck I will be invited back to the BAFTA Awards one day…or I’ll just crash it.

And Back on this Side of the Pond an Interview with Kelli Bixler

Even though our fearless leader, Kelli Bixler couldn’t attend the BAFTAs, she was very much on standby here in the States when the news came in from across the pond. Here’s Kelli’s account of getting the exciting news from Drew:

Q: We know that you were unable to attend the BAFTA awards event, so how did you find out about the “Tumble Leaf” win?KB: Family in the Midwest kept me in Chicago for our American Thanksgiving Holiday… Was thrilled that Drew (Hodges, creator & director of “Tumble Leaf”) could attend with our Amazon executive, Monica Dennis. I texted Drew about 10 minutes before our category the night of the event, he told me we had 6 more categories to go…so I stood by, also texting our producers Jodi Downs and Matt Cuny… when Drew texted back (about 15 minutes later) that we won, it was FANTASTIC! This is a new category for BAFTA and we were just so elated to be nominated. When nominated, I’m always hopeful we have a good chance of winning, but you just never know?! The BAFTA is such a high honor, it’s one thing to win in your homeland but to be recognized internationally is really quite surreal.

Q: …oh my gosh, weren’t you thrilled?!KB: To borrow a word from the Brits, “Gobsmacked!.. Delighted!!”

Q: Is there a special ‘thank you’ shout-out that you’d like to give anyone/anything for your BAFTA Award?KB: Drew covered everyone in his acceptance speech…Our fellow nominees, Tara Sorensen and Monica Dennis from Amazon, our Bix Pix Team, but I personally, would like to thank and congratulate Drew Hodges, the creator, director, and my fellow Executive Producer. It’s his show… we all contribute, but in the end, it’s his baby. And lastly to thank all of the members of BAFTA! It’s an incredible honor, that’s greatly cherished!

BAFTA 2018 at the Roundhouse - London

Such a Special Place…

The Roundhouse celebrates fifty years of “transforming young lives through creativity.”

The BAFTA Awards event was held at the Roundhouse in London. The Roundhouse is a venue celebrating their fiftieth anniversary and has great historic significance. It’s a wonderful place that beautifully accommodated the entire BAFTA award-giving/eating/celebrating/after-partying experience.